It’s been 50 years since the formation of the Open University, now one of the largest universities in Europe. The Observer Magazine of 15 November 1970 looked ahead to the start of operations in January 1971 when ‘25,000 ordinary men and women’ were about to realise ‘the promise of belated academic qualifications’. More...

Momentum’s new website will help young people to make their votes count in target marginals. More...

The financier’s links to the institution are symptoms of a deep malaise in big tech. More...

Retirement benefits are indeed declining, and funds are in deficit. But those on zero-hour jobs at universities have it worse. More...

Harvard University received nearly $9m in donations from the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein before his 2008 guilty plea to sex charges, but rejected a proposed gift after his conviction. More...

On the roadmap to post-Brexit Britain, Boris Johnson offering overseas students more time to find a job in the country after they graduate attempts to hit on a compromise: between the demands of business to attract workers and the demands of many Brexit voters for migration to fall. More...

International students at British universities are to be allowed to stay in the UK for two years after graduating, compared with four months currently. More...

The UK government’s announcement of its plans to offer extended post-study work visas for international graduates of UK universities has received an unusual response –unalloyed praise from the higher education sector. More...

Black, Asian and minority ethnic students are shunning PhDs because they don’t feel like they belong in academia. More...